Eleanor Fox

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Meet Overdog; the Geeky un- ‘Rock-‘n’-Roll Rockers

Students with a divine passion for music often form bands with strange names and even weirder lyrics to find their place or share their love of audio- be it screaming down the mic or singing operatically whilst furiously playing the violin in unison.

But how many of these bands actually stay together? I think my brother’s Uni band “Back alley abortions” (don’t ask) were jamming for all of three weeks.

Best said in the words of Bryan Adams “Me and some guys from school, had a band and we tried real hard, Jimmy quit, Jody got married, should’ve known, we’d never get far”

Some of these crazy formations do stay together though…

Meet Overdog; a five piece British rock band of Oxford graduates that have stayed together since leaving uni and with an additional member are now more successful than ever.

The band describe themselves as: “Geeky, un-Rock-‘n’-Roll Rockers.”

They formed in late 2010 when Olly Ford decided to group together friends that he’d previously been in bands with- Sam Thomson, Sam Brightbart and Adam West from university and Rob Carass from school.

Ford had just written some songs which he wanted them to group together to perform. Eventually, the band produced their first album “Structured Lives”, in summer 2011.

After performing just one live gig, the band faced geographical separation- Adam went back to Canada and then Switzerland, but the rockers’ musical chemistry kept them together and they met up a couple of times a year to develop new songs.

Almost five years later in early 2016, the band came back together to officially record a new album which was later titled “The Breeze That Hits Your Ear.”

Overdog couldn’t afford to privately fund their album so they set up a crowd funding page which within two months generated the £1500 target that they desired. The album was released on iTunes and Spotify in September 2016.

Fortunately 4 of the 5 members now live in East London so it is much easier for them to collaborate and continue to make tracks for their fans.

Since, they have performed at The o2 Islington and The Crowndale in Camden where they drew in enthusiastic crowds.

The coming June will see their biggest gig yet; they are in the line up for the notorious Camden Rocks festival in which they will share the stage with the likes of Feeder and The Coral.

Their music is well-structured, with unique, pure sounds blending together effectively. The profuse electric guitar fulfils the rock element perfectly, particularly in their track “Kaleidoscope” with their admirable harmonies offering a more delicate feel before a build up of static rock brings the chorus to its explosive peak.

Overdog said that they hope that the coming year will bring them opportunities to share their music with new audiences, and of course, bigger and better gigs.

Amusingly, the geeky group are far from the rock-star stereotype.

Sam Brightbart, 28, said: “On stage, we can rock out with the best of ’em, but behind the scenes, we are a far cry from drugs, hedonism and rock diva clichés: we generally prefer a quiet night in with a good board game.”

“You won’t catch us showing up late Axl Rose-style or smashing up your gear – we’re organised, level-headed, and determined to put on a good show.” he added.